Hard shouder as an extra lane on motorways?

Question

Seems rather dangerous to me. What happens with breakdowns?

Answer 1

Hard shoulders will only be used at turn offs at speeds of no more than 50 mph.

Answer 2

Thats what I thought! stupid idea!

Answer 3

This scheme will only be used in areas where there is very high congestion and during peak times.

Where a car has broken down, the hard shoulder will closed to traffic for that section.

The idea is to use signage to indicate when the hard shoulder is open/closed and do this in sections so if a vehicle has broken down, then the lane will be closed around it.

I think that they will also add bays at regular intervals to the outside of the hard shoulder for stranded vehicles.  This combined with more Highways Agency patrols, a vehicle shouldn't be stuck on the hard shoulder for long.

It's actually a very practical use of essentially a spare lane that sits there doing nothing.  It's been tried in a number of other countries successfully though it does need a level of practical application and common sense - something that the Highways Agency and other quangos in this country are not very good at.

Answer 4

Im guessing it will only be in the areas where accidents are at a low, and as for breakdowns, i doubt traffic will speed up to that sort dangerous level during rush hour.

Answer 5

I have used the M42 a couple of times since it was introduced and think it is an awful idea unless you are leaving at the next exit and even then I have my doubts.

Answer 6

Seems insane to me!

The hard shoulder is where you stop if you break down. Imagine being just round a bend on the hard shoulder when a 40-tonne truck appears, hurtling towards you at 50mph!

It's a multiple death pile-up waiting to happen.

Answer 7

with a bit of luck the numty who came up with this idea will get trapped in a damaged vehicle and the rescue services will not be able to get to him or her because of traffic using the hard shoulder, one of my pet hates is to be in slow moving traffic  to have morons driving down the hard shoulder and then force there way back in to lane a few miles along.

Answer 8

I think you're right - I don't like this idea at all. I was on the M6 near Warrington once, when there was roadworks. Traffic was using the hard shoulder, and a Frenchman in front of me decided to stop. I couldn't go round him so I had to stop - scariest moment of my life.

Answer 9

Total madness!

The hard shoulder of motorways is already well known to be one of the most dangerous places to be, as quite a large number of people are killed or injured whilst waiting for assistance after breaking down.

It is regrettably quite typical of this Government to arrogantly adopt such mad practises even though most people are probably against the idea.

Apart from the fact that this lane is used by emergency vehicles trying to get to breakdowns and traffic accidents, it is also the only place where the debris from accidents can be moved to in order to get traffic moving again after an accident. So the result of this mad scheme will be to bring traffic to a halt for even longer periods rather than to create more free movement.

One can only hope that the politicians responsible for this insanity have the misfortune to be amongst the carnage that their decisions are likely to bring about!